Ecuador
Ecuador is a nation in Northwestern South America, bordering Peru and Colombia. History Ecuador suffered a bumpy development after her independence in 1809. Border uncertainties led to conflicts with Peru and Colombia while the rivaling oligarchies of the conservative big landowners in the high lands and the liberal populace on the coast fought each other bitterly. The first era of relative peace was achieved under the dictatorship of the church friendly conservative President Gabriel Garcia Moreno who expanded central administration, the educational system, and the infrastructure. In 1875 Moreno was assassinated, which brought about a time of domestic turmoil once more till the liberals under General Eloy Alfaro seemed to have prevailed, but the political issues that started with his assassination, coupled with the terrible economic situation, that only went more poorly after the economic woes of the United Kingdom and the USA, ensured that the situation didn't stabilize as planned. The Conservatives, who currently hold power in a mockery of the constitution, took over in 1921 in a coup, deposing President José Luis Tamayo and making sure that a renewed Argolla Clique of the party rules the country. Term Limits are a thing of the past, and the populace resents the rather poorly executed fraudulent elections. However, slow but steady recovery may explain the people's tolerance for the Regime, and now that 1936 is starting, surely nothing can go wrong for the plans of La Nueva Argolla Politics Since the demise of Tamayo in 1926, much of the country has been under the control of a conservative alliance, often referred to as the New Argolla, in a reference to a similar movement earlier in the country's history. While most of the Argolla's actions are unconstitutional, the people have enjoyed a better economic situation since they took over, and a border dispute with Colombia was solved peacefully, defusing fears of war and improving relations between the two nations. Now a presidential republic, the Head of State is also the Head of Goverment in the current reformed constitution. Military Ecuador's Military is most certainly not a priority, and the government trusts that Diplomacy and treaties will be enough to safeguard Ecuador. Of course, this has led to increasing dissatisfaction in military circles Army The army is not well equipped nor well trained and is composed of only 4 small divisions. If Ecuador wants to keep the disputed region of Pastanza from Peruvian hands, they should look to expand its army to hold the entire north bank of the Marañón Navy Consisting of 8 small, outdated ships, Ecuador did not match the naval development of larger South American nations in the last 3 decades. It does, however, holds a naval base in the Galapagos Archipelago which has immense strategic value Air Force Ecuador's Government also neglected the airforce, and at the beginning of 1936, it lacks a single piece of working, modern combat aircraft. Foreign Relations The Republic of Ecuador has: *Friendly relations with Colombia, the United States, and the United Provinces *Poor relations with Peru Economy Ecuador's Economy, based on agricultural exports, for the most part, is on a crescent after a small dip after the crisis in 26. The exploitation of Rubber in Pastanza brought the region great prosperity but also lures envious eyes from those who would claim the White Gold as their own in Peru Culture Tamayo's demise was most certainly unexpected in many ways, and the climate of tension and uncertainty looms over Ecuador's intellctuals, for the motives of the new Argolla are unclear. Of notable importance is the Guayaquil Group movement, who are influenced by European, and some say Syndicalist, ideas on their works, such as the short story compilation Los que se van (1930). See also *Peru *Colombia *Argentina Category:Countries Category:South American countries